Euro 2024: ‘Why England’s story can have a different ending this time’ – Alan Shearer

We’ve got players who have changed games from the bench and, dare I say it, we’ve had a bit of luck along the way – like when Xherdan Shaqiri hit the woodwork in the final seconds of our quarter-final against the Swiss, or the awful penalty decision that went our way against the Netherlands.

Those sort of moments cost us in the past – I remember watching Chris Waddle hitting the post in extra-time of our World Cup semi-final against West Germany in 1990 and being on the pitch when Darren Anderton did the same at Euro ’96 – so it’s nice when things go our way.

Oh, and we have showed we can play a bit, too. As I said in my commentary for Radio 5 Live, the way we responded to going a goal down in Dortmund against the Dutch was perfect, really.

England upped the tempo and the pace of our passing, showed energy and intent and really stretched Ronald Koeman’s side in the first half by playing high up the pitch. It was definitely the best we have played at these Euros, and was exactly what I’d been waiting for from this team.

I know we also had to suffer, for example in the second half when we dropped back and lost our intensity, but you are never going to control games for 90 minutes at this level.

It can be draining watching England with the way games ebb and flow, and I am sure it will be the same story for spells against Spain, but tactically we will be ready for whatever they throw at us.